HAWKS DROP SECOND STRAIGHT CONTEST VS MAINE BY A SCORE OF 4-1

JOHNSTOWN – The Johnstown Tomahawks were defeated by the Maine Nordiques for the second straight game on home ice by a final score of 4-1. 

Despite the result, the Tomahawks were looking to build off of yesterday’s great effort and continue it right over into the 1st period on Saturday evening. 

I don’t know if it was the 5 o’ clock start time that brought some early energy that we didn’t see last night or what the case may have been, but there was a total of 11 shots on goal through the first eight minutes. Compared to yesterday where it took half the period for Johnstown to register their first shot. 

The story entering the game was the Maine goaltender Carter Richardson, and whether or not the Tomahawks would be able to solve him early. By no means did the Tomahawks get outplayed by a significant margin in the 1st, but once again they found themselves in a 1-0 hole to start the game. The Hawks had their fair share of chances in the period, but everything still seemed routine in the game of Richardson, not allowing any second or third opportunities on Tomahawks shots. 

It’s no surprise that Maine sits near the top of the division with the way they commit to team defense as a 5-man unit at all times. It almost seems that the moment they begin to frustrate opposing teams, they will capitalize on a scoring chance and grab a lead. 

The 1st period came to a close with the score the same as last night’s 1st period, Hawks down 1-0. It was also another period where the Hawks had the upper hand in the shot department, leading the Nordiques 12-10. 

Things got started in the 2nd and the Tomahawks totally seemed to have found their game as just four minutes in, Sam Blanton redirected home his 10th of the season off of a Lukas Klemm point shot. The second assist was credited to Jack Genovese. You would think the first Tomahawks goal of the weekend would give them a jolt of momentum heading into the final 30 minutes of action, but it was the pesky Nordiques once again who would score next and get their lead right back and make it 2-1. 

With just over six minutes to go in the period, the Tomahawks earned their second power-play of the night looking to tie the game once again. Despite some short-lived offensive zone control, the Hawks only registered one shot on the man-advantage, keeping the momentum in Maine’s favor. 

Late in the frame, the Hawks were sent to the box for a double minor high-sticking penalty and were set to serve the next four-minutes in the box. A huge moment in the game no matter the outcome, the Tomahawks were able to kill it off and keep the deficit to just one. The 2nd period wrapped up with the score still stuck at 2-1. Things were shaping up to become another night where the Hawks would have to play their best 20 minutes to come out victorious. 

To start the 3rd, the Nordiques definitely came out in a way that probably took most of the wind out of the Tomahawks sails. Holding a one goal lead is one of the toughest things to achieve in a hockey game, especially during the last 20 minutes. 

Maine put together an extremely strong start to the 3rd, keeping all of the Tomahawk’s pressure towards the outside parts of the zone. This defense and intelligent hockey made it easy for them to control the puck in their offensive zone and continue generating while playing smart. The true sign of a Bonafide good hockey team. 

About halfway through the period, a Nordiques forward entered the Tomahawks blue line and put together a highlight reel goal, dangling through the Hawks defense and finishing upstairs on Avakyan to double the lead. 

The remainder of the period played out with little to no excitement for the Tomahawks as they failed to generate much of anything in the period, registering just two shots on goal. Maine went on to add an empty net tally to make the score 4-1 and put the nail in this one.